Fallen
by Zafrand
Summary: "Sora, listen. the power of waking isn't to go chase hearts around!" Perhaps he should have heeded that warning. Found another way to save her. It was too late now. There was nothing left but darkness.


**Author's Note: **

This is my first Kingdom Hearts fanfiction so try to keep that in mind.

A little history on my knowledge of the series: I have played through all the games twice including KH3 and I have read the manga all the way up to the latest KH3 chapter.

This story will have little to do with the actual storyline. I am simply borrowing some aspects of the story and twisting it to my liking. Saying that however, I will still give this warning:

**KINGDOM HEARTS 3 ENDING SPOILERS! **

The story obviously takes place following KH3 so if you did not finish playing the game and do not know the ending, I must advise against reading this.

For the rest of you:

Please enjoy!

And of course, review.

-Zafrand

**Disclaimer (because apparently some people still do this): I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the characters. I only own the original parts of the story and the OCs that are born from it.**

* * *

**Fallen**

**Chapter 1 **

**Heartless **

"No matter how bad things get. No matter how long it takes, don't ever let the light inside you fade, Kairi. One day, it will guide me back to you."

"S-Sora." Gasped Kairi, pushing herself up on her hands so she could look at him. Sora smiled sadly down at her, reaching out delicately to place his hand on her cheek. Some part of her felt how cold his touch was and saw the black tips of his fingers, but her brain couldn't process anything over the pain of her shattering heart.

As he leaned towards her, tendrils of darkness began to spread over his body, winding and twisting over his torso and arms.

Calmly and gently, he pressed his lips against hers before resting his forehead on her forehead. "I'm sorry, Kairi. I have to ask you to wait again." At these words she let out a strangled sob, but he pressed on. "I'm not sure how long this time…so please, be strong." He leaned back from her, gazing into her eyes one last time as tears slid down his cheeks.

"I love you." He whispered as the darkness fully incased him and faded into nothing.

* * *

"Riku!" Screamed Kairi as she ran towards the sight of her friend struggling against the crawling shadows.

As she ran, she instinctively whipped her hand out. Her floral keyblade immediately glittered into existence.

Once she was close enough, she brought the blade around, swinging it expertly through the first few shadows in her way. This successfully drew the attention of the remaining heartless, which sprang towards her, claws reaching for her face and arms.

She rolled sideways, skillfully coming back to her feet away from the danger. Without even thinking, her feet formed a wide stance, her keyblade coming up beside her cheek as her other hand reached to grasp the handle of the weapon.

The heartless hissed, jumping for her once more, but failing as they were met with her blade.

It didn't take long for Riku to fight his way to her side where they stood back to back, fending off the heartless. Finally, after too long, Riku's blade sank through the last heartless.

He straightened, taking a deep, steading breath before looking around at her with a smile. She also took a few breaths to calm herself, smiling back.

"Kairi" Said Riku happily before spreading his arms.

Kairi smiled wide, running into his embrace and hugging him back.

"It's been too long." He said softly as he held her for a few heartbeats before holding her out at arm's length.

It had been two years since their battle with xehanort and well over a year and a half since Riku had last seen Kairi for any extended time. She had grown a bit in their time apart, coming up to his chest. Her deep red hair was long, falling over her shoulders in beautiful waves. She wore a pink top and black leather vest. She had cast away her skirt long ago for black leggings and light boots. A silver chain hung around her neck decorated with a silver crown. As he caught sight of it, his eyes landed on a small gash in the metal, a scar on the otherwise perfect charm. A lonely clue of Sora's final battle that Kairi couldn't bring herself to relive.

Riku shook himself back to reality as memories of their old friend began to surface. He didn't have time to go down that road right now.

"I got your message but even now I can hardly believe it." Said Kairi. Motioning to where the heartless had been. "Why all of a sudden?"

Riku didn't answer for a few minutes, thinking. The heartless had disappeared along with Xehanort two years before. His death had obviously had an effect on them. So why were they back? What did it mean?

"I don't know." He said simply. "Let's go. Yen Sid will want to know about this."

* * *

Hours later Yen Sid sat in his office, his hands together and his head bowed in thought as he considered the news Kairi and Riku had delivered to him.

The visit had been short. Upon hearing the news, Yen Sid had sent them to a spare room to rest. Both had been exhausted between the fighting and the flight. From what they had told him, Riku had been fighting for days against the threat, too afraid to slip away for even a moment in fear of what havoc the heartless would wreak in his absence. Even as he spoke, Yen Sid could see the restlessness in his eyes, eager to return to the frontlines. Yen Sid only reassured him when he promised to send Lea and Roxas to replace him. A promise he had quickly kept after they had left him.

He sighed heavily, his eyes closed tight. What did it mean? He had feared the return of the heartless and even the Organization for years. He had believed for a long time that they had merely won the battle but not the war. The question was the identity of their new enemy. It was impossible to believe Xehanort had returned yet again. Sora and the others had witnessed his departure from the living.

_Sora._ He thought to himself. _Perhaps…NO! _He quickly cut himself off.

Yes, it was true Sora had changed, but this wasn't something he would do. However, it would be foolish for him to not question the boy's standing in their war.

Though Kairi and all the others believed him to have simply disappeared, Yen Sid knew the truth. He was the only one who did. Perhaps that was proof enough of his loyalty….

Yen Sid groaned shaking his head. "We must consider all possibilities. If I am right about his loyalty, there will be no harm. If I am wrong…" He shivered. "Let us hope I am right."

* * *

Riku adjusted the black jacket over his shoulders as he looked at himself in the mirror. The good fairies had whipped up a new outfit for himself and Kairi to aid them on the journey Yen Sid was sending them on. They hadn't yet gotten the details but if they were getting new clothes it must be important…and dangerous.

He gave himself another once over. The fairies had gone for much less color then normal, drowning out his normal purple-grey scheme for an almost all black. He was dressed in long black cargo pants with heavy black combat boots. The top was a simple black shirt with the dream eater logo situated over his left ribcage in silver. Over the shirt he wore a long black jacket with silver trim. Riku slowly turned to see his back. Across his back was a silver outline of a crown with two keyblades crossed over it. He absent-mindedly laid one hand on his shoulder, the tips of his fingers touching the tip of the outline.

The fairies had been so unsure of the emblem. The moment Riku's eyes had laid on it, they had begun stammering that they could change it to something different. He had shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. It was perfect. A new symbol for them. A gentle reminder of a friend who couldn't be by their side and the fight they couldn't lose.

A soft knock on the room door shook Riku out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat as he lowered his hand. "Come in."

Kairi slowly cracked open the door, peering around. She looked Riku up and down nodding. "Not bad. I like it." She opened the door the rest of the way to reveal her outfit.

Kairi's scheme was also mostly black with a black shirt, jeans and boots. Over the black shirt she wore a long sleeveless red duster with a floral embroidered trim. She wore red gloves on her hands and Sora's necklace around her neck. She had tied her long hair back with a black ribbon that hung softly down to her shoulders.

Riku smiled. "Nice look."

Kairi laughed. "Yeah. I like it. It's really dark though."

Riku chuckled. "Seemed to be a theme." He agreed, motioning to his outfit. "Well, shall we?"

Kairi stepped to the side, allowing Riku to slip past her.

A few moments later they knocked on the door of Yen Sid's office before stepping inside.

In the room, Yen Sid sat in his normal spot upon his high-backed chair, his arms perched up on the desk in front of him and his chin leaning against his hands in thought. In front of the desk stood Aqua, Terra and Ventus. All three stood as if they were waiting.

Aqua was standing with her hands folded in front of her, staring out one of the windows behind Yen Sid. Riku did notice her azure hair was longer, gently brushing her back with its silky locks. He also noticed the small silver ring on her finger with the glittering aquamarine gem that he and Namine had helped Terra pick out months before. She wore a very similar clothing to her usual but rather than the blue, she was dressed in a bright white that faded softy to blue along her arms. Her armor was attached just above her elbows per normal. When she heard the door open, she turned slowly, smiling brightly at them.

Terra stood with his arms crossed, head slightly down and his eyes shut almost as if he had taken a nap on his feet. His hair also fell down past his shoulders, held back by a tight brown ribbon. He had traded in his normal wear for a tight brown muscle shirt, black jeans and combat boots. His armor also sat in its normal place along his shoulder and arm. When Riku had opened the door, one of his dark eyes had opened, looking over at him. Riku nodded at the eye contact and saw Terra give a crooked smile in response.

Ventus had his arms behind his head and was tapping one of his feet. He was the only one of the three that looked as if he had drastically changed. In the two years, he had grown taller, only maybe a few inches shorter than Riku. His unruly golden hair still went in all directions and was a bit longer then last Riku had seen him. He had traded in his normal tan, black, red outfit for an all tan zip up shirt and grey cargo shorts. He, of course, carried the same armor, though Riku noticed the shoulder piece had grown in size along with its owner. He whipped around at the sound of the door opening, his eyes wild and impatient as he scowled at them.

"Took you long enough!" He snapped.

"Ven!" Snipped Aqua, causing the blonde to fall back quickly.

"Good I see you got your new outfits." Said Yen Sid, as Riku and Kairi came to stand beside the other three.

"Yes, thank you." Said Kairi for both of them.

Yen Sid nodded.

He paused for a few moments as if thinking over what he was going to say before sighing heavily.

"As you know I brought all of you here in response to the reappearance of the heartless across the worlds. Unfortunately, I have received reports of sightings across almost all worlds, including that of the King. It is truly troubling."

He looked up at them with a stern gaze. "I am not sure if their reappearance is brought on by the return of the organization or xehanort…or if there is a new enemy we must be prepared to face. There is also, of course, the possibility Maleficent has something to do with it all as she has been known to use the Heartless in the past for her evil deeds.

"But since no enemy has yet to make themselves known, I am left with no choice but to seek information on who it could be."

Yen Sid stopped, his eyes shutting for a moment as he steadied his breath. "I have reason to believe that a possible enemy and possibly the controller of the heartless might reside within the world of darkness." He stopped, practically feeling some in the room shutter as they realized what he was saying. "Unfortunately, time is of the essence. We cannot afford to let this person, if they are an enemy, become strong while we wait for them to come into the light. I am left with little choice but to send you into the darkness after them."

Aqua spoke before Yen Sid could continue. "There is someone inside the world of darkness? Are they trapped?"

Yen Sid met her eyes for a moment, seeing the empathy in them. She remembered all too easily what it meant to be trapped in the darkness. However, Yen Sid shook his head. "This person has the ability to come out of the world at will. They have even come here to my office and spoken with me on occasion." They all gasped at this, but he pressed on. "I do not, for that reason, believe they are trapped there. So please do not consider this some kind of rescue mission. Also, as I have said, this person could very well be our enemy…though with every fiber of my being I hope it is not so."

Terra stood up straight, suddenly seeming to understand something. "Master Yen Sid, who is this person?"

Yen Sid met his gaze this time and could see the truth forming in them. It was time they knew.

"The person I am sending you to investigate…." He stopped, seeing all of them eager for the name, waiting. He could already feel his heart breaking.

"Is Sora."

* * *

Sora stood, his feet planted just far enough from the black water to keep from getting wet as he gazed off into the endless black sky above. A small part of him longed for the sunsets back in the world of the light and the starry night skies above. This world had neither, the sky stuck in an endless purplish black.

He took a deep breath in through his nose. Smiling as his memories awoke the smell of the salty sea even though the black beach never smelled of anything but tar and miasma.

He sighed, his small smile dropping quickly as his eyes shut. "What do you want?" He said sternly before his eyes jumped open, turning fast to the shivering shadow behind him.

The shadow quivered, letting out a soft sound similar to a whimper. Sora heard a soft voice in his head as it spoke. _**The Guardians of Light are making their move. **_

Sora nodded and the shadow flickered away as quickly as it had come, disappearing into the black world.

Sora turned back to the dark sea, his eyes solemn. "I warned you." He said softly, the only response coming from the shifting sea.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So I hope you enjoyed it. I just want to add something really quick. This is the first story I have managed to write in quite a long time. For this reason, I'm only doing minimal editing on each chapter. Right now, my goal is simply to push along the story.

I do apologize for possible bad grammar, spelling and the possible lack of decent description.

I am hoping for improvement as I go and if I feel I can comfortably repeat the chapters, I will go back and do an editing and improvement run. For now, please just try to focus on the story itself. Not that I'm going to be angry if you point out bad description or anything of the such. Please, write your reviews how you wish. I will take them to heart eventually and use them to rework the story.

A few other things before anyone asks: I do not write smut so don't expect it. I normally place the story at safe T rating simply for possible graphic scenes. If I feel I go long enough without a graphic scene, it will be dropped to a K+ rating. I don't see this story getting strong enough to be M but the same rules apply there. If I feel I'm pushing the rating, I will raise it without warning.

For those who might recognize my name: I haven't abandoned Eternal Flames completely. I'm hoping this story will get the creative juices flowing and allow me to revisit it. So fingers crossed.

-Zafrand


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